Constitution Hill shines in Fighting Fifth victory at Newcastle
Champion Hurdle favourite Constitution Hill impresses on his seasonal return with victory in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle.
Month: November 2022
Caturra Retires to Overbury Stud
The G2 Flying Childers S. winner Caturra (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}–Shoshoni Wind {GB}, by Sleeping Indian {GB}) has joined the roster at Overbury Stud in a deal brokered by Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock. His opening fee will be £6,500.
The 3-year-old will be available for viewing in Newmarket this week from Sunday to Wednesday at Crockfords, opposite the rear entrance of Tattersalls.
The arrival of Caturra at the Gloucestershire stud has echoes of Ardad (Ire), the leading first-season sire in Britain in 2021. Both horses were bred by Tally-Ho Stud and won the Flying Childers, having been bought by Brown as youngsters–Ardad at the breeze-up sales and Caturra as a yearling for 110,000gns from Tattersalls October Book 2.
Caturra was trained by Clive Cox for Saeed bin Mohammed al Qassimi and won as early as the May of his juvenile season before going on to land the Listed Rose Bowl S. at Newbury and gaining his Group 2 success. This season he has added further group placings in the G3 Prix Sigy at Chantilly and the G2 King George S. at Goodwood.
“He's got everything a top juvenile needs: great physical maturity–and he's an outstanding model–but also a wonderful mind. From the moment he stepped in the yard, he was a natural for Royal Ascot,” said Cox.
“The Flying Childers win was very special. To be able to accelerate off fast sprinting pace like he did–that really takes some doing. I loved the way he'd really get his head down to gallop. And so straightforward: I've never had a sprinter with such a sober attitude. Caturra had a lie down at the races when he arrived at Doncaster. That's rare! He saves all his energy for when he needs it, and he's a lovely, kind horse to work with. I am very confident he'd have been competitive at the highest level again at four.”
Caturra is a member of the second crop of Mehmas, who set a new world record in 2020 with 56 first-crop juvenile winners.
Richard Brown commented, “Caturra is the fastest son of Mehmas, and he won the same big race as Ardad. Those are two of the biggest names in the commercial market, and Caturra– who's a particularly good-looking horse–has every chance of joining them. He's just like Ardad.”
Overbury Stud will be offering a number of breeding rights in Caturra. Manager Simon Sweeting said, “We are keeping things simple: these are the same terms Ardad started at, and if ever there was a second Ardad, this is this horse. A fast and notably precocious Flying Childers winner by a top commercial stallion, just like Ardad. And, if anything, Caturra is even better looking, with a most lovely head and bags of strength and quality. We're really looking forward to showing him to breeders during the December Sales.”
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ITV racing tips: Seven key runners from Newbury and Newcastle
Constitution Hill is set to get his campaign underway in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle.
Justify Represented By First Japanese Winners
Coolmore America's Triple Crown-winning freshman sire Justify (Scat Daddy) was represented by his first two Japanese winners Saturday afternoon at Hanshin Racecourse, his 24th and 25th individual winners overall.
In the afternoon's opening event over 1800 meters, Kazumi Yoshida's 2-year-old colt Jovian, a debut second over the metric seven furlongs on Hanshin debut Nov. 19, stretched out successfully and validated 7-10 favoritism with a seven-length romp in gate-to-wire fashion. Bred in Kentucky by DS Stable LLC, Jovian is a son of Runway Doll (Majestic Warrior) and was purchased for $250,000 out of this year's OBS March Sale after breezing a furlong in :9 4/5. Jovian was ridden to victory by the visiting Cristian Demuro.
First-time starting juvenile filly Awesome Result repeated the dose about 90 minutes later. Sent off the 14-5 second betting choice over the same nine-furlong distance, the daughter of Blossomed (Deputy Minister) settled midfield through the opening half-mile and finished up nicely to graduate by 2 1/2 lengths, defeating the Demuro-ridden favorite Cours Mirabeau (Jpn), a son of successful young sire Drefong. A half-sister to GI Spinaway S. winner Sippican Harbor (Orb), Awesome Result is also kin to Bodacious Babe (Mineshaft), whose son Ju Taro (Arrogate) is already a three-time winner in Japan. Blossomed was acquired by Springhouse Farm in foal to Honor Code for $425,000 at Keeneland November two months after Sippican Harbor's upset at Saratoga in 2018. Read more in Sunday's TDN.
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